Customer Reviews

Story the Soldiers Wouldn't Tell: Sex in the Civil War

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Thomas P. Lowry, a physician with an interest in history, seeks to dispel the common perception that the American Civil War was fought by sublime marble figures on horseback. In large part he succeeds, but only by way of over-kill on the seemly side. Indeed, some readers may walk away from this book convinced that the War Between the States was fought entirely by drunken, insubordinate, gambling prostitute-chasers.

The book consists of 17 short chapters, each covering a short topic that forms part of the author's tapestry. Chapters include topics such as officer misconduct, court martials, rape, VD and prostitution, all in relation to army units. The author does make some valid points here that are supported by documentary evidence, such as the high VD rates in the Union army that probably had an operational impact. While deaths from VD were not an immediate issue, up to 25% or more of soldiers in some units were debilitated. The units that were hardest hit by this disease were those that were stationed for prolonged periods of time near cities, rather than combat units in the field that had low rates. Although the evidence on the Southern side is weaker, apparently the Confederate army had lower VD rates since more of their forces remained in the field for longer periods. However, on most subjects the author's evidence is fragmentary, based on hospital returns and provost martial records.

Other parts of this book are based on scraps of diaries, letters and other wartime bric-a-brac. At times the author is overly-salacious and tends toward gossipy assertions, such as President Lincoln's relationship with a former male law partner. Another chapter on religious scandals involves two chaplains and is not very germane to this account. Overall, historians might find this book interesting for shedding some light on the darker corners of the Civil War, particularly in reference to certain individuals such as Major General Judson Kilpatrick and Major General Joseph Hooker. Military readers might appreciate the information concerning the impact of disease on troop discipline and morale. However, the book is rather superficial and includes no appendices or supporting data. Some of the depiction of events, such as Daniel Sickle's role at Gettysburg is inaccurate, where the author claims, "in a few hours, half his corps was dead or wounded." In fact, Sickles' 3rd Corps suffered 35% losses in the entire three days at Gettysburg. Readers should treat other passages with equal circumspection.

I'm awarding one star for the title, one star for the subject and one for effort. My problem is I become impatient with an author who leaves me with more questions than answers.

As a young girl, I loved history. Unfortunately, every time I asked an earthy question such as what did women do for their personal needs or what were houses of ill repute, I was snarled at, lied to or just ignored. My knee jerk reaction has been to search for truthful answers to *all* my questions about the past especially in the realm of human nature.

Naturally when I saw The Story the Soldiers Wouldn't Tell, I immediately grabbed it. Unfortunately, while the book had excellent moments and the prose is good, it was over-all a disappointment. Dr. Lowry successfully titillated, but unsuccessfully answered the titillating questions he brought up.

For instance Dr. Lowry sites a lot of data concerning a variety of sexual dilemmas such as rape, venereal disease and prostitution. I am keenly interested in both learning and understanding these offenses particularly within the context of the Civil War. In my opinion however, his efforts were weak and lacked even a cursory analysis.

In the area of rape for instance, he provided the nitty gritty of several reported episodes and subsequent trials. Yet he never touched on the army's attitude towards these crimes or the prevailing cultural climate. The stories were left treading water in mid-stream. Did a `boys will be boys' environment condone rape? How did the ordinary soldier feel about this crime against women? Were the women blamed as having somehow invited attack? If rape was as rare as he suggests, why? Even if Dr. Lowry couldn't solve these mysteries, I would have appreciated his acknowledgement that the questions exist.

The same was true when he discussed venereal diseases. He reported the horrific devastation and some of the customary remedies, but never indicated whether any of the unpronounceable potions had any medicinal value. It seems to me as both a medical and psychiatric doctor; he is uniquely equipped to provide a cogent explanation of these curatives. Was there any prevention? Did any of the medicines work? How did loved ones treat the men? Did they take their diseases back home? How did the army deal with this pervasive problem?

I am not sorry I purchased or read the book, only disappointed it wasn't as professional and complete as I had hoped.

Mr. Lowry's book deals with sex and the role it played amongst the performers in the Civil War. Although sex is usually left out of the history books, its prevalence in every day Civil War life makes it hard to believe that a book like this hasn't already been written. This book serves as a good introduction to sex in the Civil War but at times it feels as though some the meat and potatoes have been left out. I enjoyed the book, though, and would recommend it to any fan of history (or sex).

I've read many books on the Civil War, but this is one of the best. Lowry does an incredible job digging up the seamy side of the war and presenting it in unflinching fashion. Yet at the same time, he views this stuff with a detached and nonjudgmental eye, and with gentle humor as well. Lowry often picks up where Bell Irvin Wiley left off in his wonderful "Life of Johnny Reb" and "Life of Billy Yank." Where Wiley tiptoed away from certain subjects (he was writing in the '40s, after all), giving the reader only a titillating tidbit followed by a footnote telling us we could find the information at some faraway library, Lowry seems to have gone and looked up that information for us, and presented it in all its glory. A notable example of this is the poem about collecting urine in the South for making gunpowder. Wiley only told us the poem existed; but Lowry prints it, and it's a howler! If you want to go on believing that all the Civil War soldiers were pure as the driven snow, this is probably not the book for you. But if you like your history fascinating warts and all, buy this book!

Written by a medical doctor and historian, "Sex In The Civil War" shows that our prudish Victorian ancestors really weren't so uptight after all...in fact, some things haven't changed that much. Sometimes hilarious and always informative, Dr. Lowry covers everything from bathroom invective to antebellum birth control using research gleaned from period medical texts, diaries, military records and of course the soldiers' letters home. An entertaining and educational look at the birds and the bees in the nineteenth century.

Most people have the ridiculous notion that somehow sex was different in the Civil war, more repressed, less open, less frequent and done in the dark under the covers with guilty consciences. A cursory examination of civil war literature and letters from the time will quickly dispel that notion.

Lowry is to be admired for tackling this subject, but he really doesn't reveal anything new. There is much "padding" in this book, with unnecessary repetition and extraneous chapters which have little to do with sex.

If you're interested in the sexual habits and mores of the time, it would be more instructive to consult marriage manuals of the period which are easily obtainable on the Internet. Lowry barely touches the surface and doesn't really explain much. Perhaps because the simple truth is that sex is sex, whether it's in 1860 or the year 2000.

The book reads well and seems well researched. However, being that Mr. Lowry is actually banned from the National Archives for tampering with original documents, can the facts be trusted? Apparently he took a fountain pen and changed the date on an original Abe Lincoln signed document with the intent of changing its relevance. The change temporarily boosted Mr. Lowry's reputation for "rediscovering" the documents importance. The statute of limitations expired before the archives could prosecute. Mr. Lowry lost all integrity when he defaced a historical document for his own personal gain. Did he conduct legit research for his other books? Think about these facts before you apply 100% faith in Lowry's writing and research.

It has said that ninety-nine percent of a soldiers' life is taken up with camp duties, training, mass movements, red tape, make-work and, if he is clever, leave.
As the the majority of books on military history deal with battles and the personal lives of commanders, readers seldom get an accurate picture about the experience of the troopers who must bear the burden of war on (often) anonymous shoulders. War does seem to bring out the best and worst in human behavior, and perhaps in historians as well as fighters. How can an author spend years discovering what a general did on a single occasion and not explore the daily hopes and fears of the common men and women in the field?
In each chapter, Lowry details a different aspect of life for the men in uniform and the women who loved them. Some parts are noteworthy as they detail problems which had no titles at the time (the Rev. James C. Richmond,in 1863, was pestering a goverment clerk named Rosa Bielaski in an unremitting manner we now call "stalking"). Each section cover human folly briskly, with a dry wit and even some sympathy.
For a good time, read this book.

I must admit that I found this book to be an interesting read, for it covers another one of those rare American Civil War topics which has not been covered a million and a half times over. (It's the only book of its kind in my rather extensive Civil War library.) The reason for this could possibly be that the mental image of Abraham Lincoln and his wife Mary Todd doing "the deed" is not an especially attractive one. As Dr. Lowry points out in his introduction, there has been an almost total lack of research done on the sexual attitudes and experiences of the average Civil War soldier. Though he makes a very valiant attempt, Lowry does not entirely succeed in covering the topic thoroughly. Perhaps the doctor's complaint of censorship by well-meaning relatives leaving little evidence for researchers to uncover is the reason that I was, after finishing the book, left with the feeling that I had gotten only a brief glimpse of the sexual side of the men who fought in the sectional conflict of 1861-1865. Therefore, while a good start, this book is certainly not the diffinative work on the subject. Still, I was confirmed in my impression that like today, sex, while perhaps not always openly discussed in polite society, has always been very much on everyone's mind throughout our entire human history. Hence the title for my review.

Lowry offers a serious, yet oft times tongue-in-cheek look at the sexual behavior(s) of Civil War participants. From addresses of Washington area brothels, to medical examination forms, from excerpts from Walt Whitman's "love diary" to insights into the "self-help" manuals of the times, Lowry explores just about all aspects of sexuality during the era. Of course, some readers may be offended by the use of graphic language, but indeed, this IS a story about sex!